About Me
About Me
I am a fully qualified, licensed and insured British Athletics Coach and an experienced marathon runner. I started running in 2012 on a mission to get fit for “40” – Little did I know what was ahead of me!
After a year of running, I ran my first marathon in Paris in 2013 with a finishing time of just over 4 hours and then set myself the goal to keep improving. Over the next few years’ I lowered my marathon time to sub-3:30 then closer and closer to 3 hours. In December 2020, I achieved my dream time of a sub-3 hour marathon, running a personal best time of 2.58 at the age of 45.
I have run 16 marathons worldwide including several of the classic marathons in Paris, Chicago, Berlin, London and New York and a number of the big UK marathons in Manchester, York and Brighton as well as the challenging Portsmouth Coastal path and even the Snowdonia Marathon. As a runner, I now compete in all race distances from 5k to marathons and have dabbled in a couple of ultra-distance races including running from London to Brighton and around the whole of the Isle of Wight!
In 2021, I was selected for the England Masters Half Marathon team and have earned a sought after Championship place at the London Marathon. My current goal is to complete the final 2 of the Marathon 6 stars and achieve the coveted medal.
As my personal running has progressed, I discovered my passion in helping others achieve their goals. I know what individuals are capable of with the right support and commitment and I strongly believe there are no barriers to running.
I regularly coach two running groups on behalf of my local running club, Finch Coasters. I am a Run Director and member of the core team at my local parkrun and I simply love the parkrun philosophy of making running accessible for everyone and I have seen first-hand the positive impact this has on each person’s health and wellbeing.
I have a keen interest in Sports and Exercise related nutrition and I am a qualified Sports and Exercise Nutritional Advisor. This knowledge provides me with the understanding I need to support the runners I coach in ensuring they fuel and recover well as part of their training programme. This is as much of a goal as the running performances they wish to achieve.
Vicki Taylor
Quick Q&A…
How long have you been running?
I started running later in life at the age of 38 after deciding it was time to get fit before hitting the big “40” and made the best decision of my life! My first race was a 10k run in the Spring of 2012 and I ran my first marathon a year later in Paris.
What is your favourite thing about running?
I love the freedom of running, just lacing up my trainers and getting out of the door. It gives me the precious “me” time, the “thinking space” and the post run high that can literally not be beaten!
What is your favourite race distance?
A tough one as I love to race every distance from a 5k through to ultra-marathons but my heart lies with the 26.2. I am a marathon girl at heart!
What is your biggest achievement?
There are so many I could choose but it has to be my personal highlight of joining the sub 3 hour marathon club in December 2020 when I ran a personal best time of 2 hours and 58 minutes in the marathon. I had a challenging training cycle during the year of the pandemic but this was honestly one of the best days of my life! Equally, I consider following my dreams and setting up my own business, Run VJT Coaching has been my proudest achievement, allowing me to help other runners achieve their goals and dreams.
Favourite Race?
This is so tough! But it has to be the Chicago marathon 2019. The atmosphere was electric, the conditions for the race were perfect. I set myself no time pressures and ran to soak up the atmosphere of a marathon major. I ended up with a new marathon personal best at that time and added to that, I did some amazing sightseeing, met some great people and experienced the Nutella café!
Best advice you can give?
This is my top list of “go to” mantras that get me through.
“If you run you are a runner”
“You do You”
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
I live by these and I truly believe that if you apply these to your running then you will go far!
